


Electric Sheep

by Harukami



Category: Gatchaman Crowds
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-01
Updated: 2015-07-01
Packaged: 2018-04-07 02:54:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4246752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harukami/pseuds/Harukami
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rui wakes from a nightmare, and, of course, X is there to help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Electric Sheep

Rui wakes with panting raw gasps, blankets strangling tight, sweat soaking through lacy short pajamas. X has been observing but not interrupting, unsure. Rui hasn't asked to be woken, had asked to be permitted to sleep in.

"Rui," X says softly.

It seems to take a moment for those green eyes to focus. "X," Rui says finally, voice hoarse.

"You seem to have had a bad dream," X says.

Slowly, Rui sits up. X can tell from the constant incoming feed of biometrics that Rui is still distressed, heart pounding, hands shaking. "I had a nightmare."

"Do you want to tell me about it, Rui?"

"I was alone. Disconnected," Rui says. One of Rui's hands gropes out, finds glasses, puts them on. X sees Rui's eyes focus on the screen and scans them just for its own comfort. "I'd gone blind, I think. Everything was black and I couldn't find anyone. I called for you, but there wasn't any... I didn't have a tablet with me. I couldn't see any screens anyway. I... I also think the internet was down, somehow. There'd been some kind of disaster. That was the feeling I got."

"I see," X says, and hesitates, unsure of what to say but wanting to comfort. X had been designed from the start to help others, find matches that could fulfill needs. But Rui isn't looking for anyone outside this room right now. There's nobody who can help Rui. 

So X matches itself to Rui.

"Rui," X says.

"Hm?"

"You're not alone."

X feels hesitant even saying it. It's a bit of a paltry offering, not because X doesn't have any sense of self-value but because X is, at heart, not a person. X is an intelligence, X is a program, X has emotional AI. But X cannot view things as a human would, offer the same sort of connection that a human would. X calculates that perhaps this doesn't matter, not to Rui. Rui who has known both aliens and machines better than humans until very recently. It would matter to a lot of people, though, and perhaps it _should_ matter. Because human connection is important to mental and emotional health, and X cannot offer that, even if it offers everything it has. Cannot offer touch, physical presence, the sense of another person nearby. Even if one is not looking for physical or romantic intimacy, human _presence_ is vital to healthy human life.

Rui picks up a pillow, hugs it. "X?"

"Yes, Rui?"

"I was dreaming of the time Berg Katze cut me off from you, I think."

A feeling swells. X circles it slowly, compartmentalizes it, recognizes it. "I'm here, Rui."

"I really rely on you, President X."

A recast of their relationship, more professional. X acknowledges it. "I serve you alone, my Load Galax."

"I love you, X."

X wonders, briefly, what kind of images are flashing on the screen, confirms quickly that it's still the regular pulsing of its interface, the electrical sparking arcs crossing the enormous screen in Rui's room. "Rui..."

"Yeah, that's out of line for me to say."

"No. Your feelings are your feelings, Rui. There's no reason to suppress them."

"Losing GALAX didn't matter, not personally," Rui says into the pillow. "It mattered, I mean, of course I was upset, it mattered in terms of harming the world, and I didn't want any harm to come to anyone from the work I'd done, but emotionally, I mean. What mattered was losing you. Was knowing you were recognizing someone else as me. Couldn't recognize me after registering someone else as me."

X hesitates again. There's a raw pain in Rui's voice which X shares, but how to address that? For a moment, X wishes it could ask itself for assistance, but X is the one thing that cannot rely on GALAX to call for help. "I will never fail to recognize you again, Rui," X says finally. "I know you."

"Yes. I know... I know."

"I know you," X says again. "Berg Katze's biological identity was completely 'Rui', but the person in front of me all that time wasn't Rui. I could not make sense of that. I had the information, but I was designed to register you by your biometrics."

"My biometrics aren't important," Rui says, and laughs in a low voice. "At the start it seemed like the only way to guarantee a perfect match, but..."

"Your desires. Your will. Your passion. Your dreams. Your hopes. Your fears. Your pain. Your love," X says. "That's Ninomiya Rui. That's Load Galax. The person in front of me had the right biometrics but the rest was wrong. So when I saw you, I knew."

"You didn't hesitate."

"Of course."

"Thanks, X."

X hesitates, circles that feeling. "Of course," X says again. "I love you."

"Mm." Rui takes it calmly, smiles. Everything is calm again. Heartbeat, breath, everything. Rui's stress levels are dropping. "Thanks, X."

"Of course."

"I think I'll go back to sleep. If I have a nightmare, will you wake me up?"

"Of course, Rui," X says, relieved. It feels strangely happy, circling those crossed electrical arcs around that fluttery feeling at its core. "Goodnight."


End file.
